Find out why a ZIP won’t extract — for example, Windows saying the Compressed (zipped) Folder is invalid, or that the path is too long (0x80010135) — and get a ZIP that extracts normally. Nothing to install, so it works on locked-down work PCs too. Only the names change and the data is reused as-is, so even large ZIPs are done in seconds.
Your ZIP file is never sent to a server (processed in your browser)
| Original path | New path (extracted length, bytes in ZIP) | Change |
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If opening a ZIP gives “Windows cannot open the folder. The Compressed (zipped) Folder “…” is invalid.”, the usual cause is that a name stored inside the ZIP (folders plus file name) is too long. Windows File Explorer refuses to open the whole ZIP if even one name inside it is 260 bytes or longer.
Plain English letters take 1 byte each, but accented letters take 2 and Japanese or Chinese characters take 3, so names in those languages reach the limit much sooner. The limit depends only on the names inside the ZIP, not on where the ZIP is or where you extract it, so moving it to the desktop or to C:\ doesn’t help. The ZIP itself isn’t broken.
Load the ZIP here to see how many names go over the limit and how long the longest one is in bytes. The fixed ZIP has names shortened to fit, so File Explorer opens and extracts it as usual.
When the ZIP opens but “Extract All” or copying stops with “path too long” or error 0x80010135, it’s because the full path of a file, including the destination folder, goes past the Windows limit of 260 characters. The path is the whole name from the drive down, such as C:\Users\…\folder\file name.
This limit includes the destination folder, so it happens more often when extracting somewhere deep such as Downloads. This tool takes the destination into account and shortens names to fit both limits.
SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams allow paths of up to 400 characters. When you download a folder, everything below it goes into the ZIP, so long names that work fine in the cloud can go over the Windows limits. Work folders tend to be deep, with long folder and file names, so these ZIPs are a typical case.
“Remove common top-level folders” drops the top folder that every file sits inside, which shortens every name by that much. Anything still too long gets a shorter name, and the rename map (CSV) shows exactly what changed. Downloading only the lower-level folder you need also helps.
For notes on each service and what you can do before downloading, see “ZIP from SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive or Google Drive Won’t Open?”.
Apps like 7-Zip can often open these ZIPs, but many work computers don’t allow installing software. PowerShell’s built-in Expand-Archive can extract them too, but it means typing a command and the extracted files keep their long names. This tool runs in your browser (Chrome, Edge and others) with nothing to install, and gives you a ZIP that File Explorer opens directly, which also helps when you send it on to someone else.
For how this compares with extracting via PowerShell or tar, see “How to Extract a ZIP Without 7-Zip or Installing Anything”.
The ZIP is processed only inside your browser and never sent anywhere, so it’s safe for work files.
The fixed ZIP reuses the compressed data from the original as-is and rebuilds only the names and the table of contents. That’s why multi-gigabyte ZIPs are done quickly and the file contents never change. Names are written as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 flag, so they display correctly on Windows 10/11 and on a Mac.
For an incomplete ZIP, the files that can be read from the start are put into a new ZIP. Data that is actually damaged can’t be recovered.
The “path too long” limit (260 characters) counts the destination folder as well as the names inside the ZIP. Extracting in your Downloads folder adds "C:\Users\username\Downloads\ZIP name\". Set "Extract to" to the place you’ll use for a more accurate check.
The “invalid” limit (260 bytes) depends only on the names inside the ZIP, so extracting somewhere shorter doesn’t help. The names themselves have to be shortened.